Matt Oliver

*Westminster City Council is NOT planning to stop you from standing up in the pub* This morning, The Guardian published a story that they know to be untrue. The basic theme is that @CityWestminster plans to ban people from standing up in a pub. This is untrue. They had asked us for a comment and we sent them a direct answer. They made a decision to use a tiny portion of it. Critically, they didn't use the part where I clearly stated their main point was untrue so I am sharing the complete text we sent to them. Sadly, even before publication, it was clear that this was part of a politically-motivated campaign and the line they were taken was deliberately and knowingly mis-leading. We suggested that ahead of publication and it turned out to be the case. This is a clear example of a major UK newspaper being more interested in promoting the interests of one political party over the truth and doing so when the facts had been clearly explained to them, and that was ignored. The added irony is that the photo they chose to use was of a close friend of mine taken about five minutes before I arrived to begin a couple of hours of standing up while drinking. They came pretty close to having me illustrate the story, which is an irony that should not be lost in anyone. We are investigating our options for a formal complaint with The Guardian. Here is The Guardian's false story: theguardian.com/business/202… Below is what we sent them, in full, from which they pulled the tiny quote from me at the end of their piece, which is not reflective of the core message of my comments: Cllr Tim Barnes, Westminster City Council deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Growth and Planning, said: "It is utterly ludicrous to suggest the Council is planning to "ban" people standing up in pubs. Suggesting otherwise is a wilful misreading of the policy proposals with clauses taken out of context. "We want people to go out in the West End and have a good time. Our guidance is simply about encouraging venues to manage their customers so people don't pack onto pavements or excessive drinking doesn't disturb others passing by. "The Cumulative Impact Zone is recognised as an area that has a high concentration of activity and particular policies exist for that in Westminster and the Mayor’s London-wider planning. There is a legal obligation to look at every application on its merits and we do just that, meaning we see new venues opening all the time. Again, there is little change here from the policy of previous administrations and we have seen new pubs and fast-food outlets open recently including a license extension for the McDonald's on Leicester Square, which will now be open 24 hours despite objections from the Mayor’s police representatives. "We are the country's largest planning authority with some 4,000 licensed venues. We reject less than 1.5% of license applications and there is a strong desire to see thriving, profitable, venues across Westminster. "As we have made clear we are happy to work with the Mayor of London on licensing and have just launched our own campaign to promote nights out in Soho."